Mental Health Legal Centre Inc.
International Human Rights
International human rights law confirms that people with mental illness have the right to enjoy autonomy, equality and dignity.
Disability Convention
Under international law, the most authoritative legal document relating to the rights of people with disability, including people with mental illness, is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Disability Convention). The Disability Convention reaffirms that all people with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including:-
- Right to equality
- Effective access to justice
- Enjoyment of personal liberty and security
- Freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Right to live independently and to be included in community life
- Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information
- Respect for privacy
- Respect for family life
- Right to health
- Right to work
- An adequate standard of living
A full-text transcript of the Disability Convention can be downloaded below:-
Disability Convention (UN website)
Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness
The Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care (MI Principles) provide guidance on how people with mental illness can expect to be treated in the health-care system and beyond. Like the Disability Convention, the key philosophies of the MI Principles are the maximisation of consumer autonomy and freedom of choice. The MI Principles are not formally binding, but they do influence the interpretation of Australia's human rights obligations.
The MI Principles confirm that people with mental illness have the right to:-
- Live and work, as far as possible, in the community
- Be treated in the community in which they live
- Receive appropriate health and social care
- Receive medication only for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes
- Access their health and personal records
- Make a complaint about their treatment
- Know and understand their rights
A full-text transcript of the MI Principles can be downloaded below, in either Publisher or PDF format:-
Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and for the Improvement of Mental Health Care
Transcribed into Publisher Format 209 KB
Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and for the Improvement of Mental Health Care (UN website)
